Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 117 – NBA Blog

Dec 25: Cavs 93, Wizards 89

The AP reports: Trailing by eight to woeful Washington, the Cavaliers scored 11 straight points in the final 1:33 to preserve their perfect home record with a 93-89 win Thursday night. Mo Williams scored 24 points, and LeBron James and Delonte West had 18 apiece for the Cavs, who at 15-0 are the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home. Cleveland trailed 89-82 before storming back with three free throws by James, a 3-pointer by Williams and five more foul shots in the last 26 seconds. Antawn Jamison scored 28 points, and Mike James 26 for the Wizards, who dropped their eighth straight and continue to find new ways to lose… Overmatched because of injuries to All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas (knee) and center Brendan Haywood (wrist), Washington is off to the worst start in franchise history and has already had a coaching change before the end of the calendar year.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I thought several lousy calls greatly benefitted the Cavaliers in the final few minutes of this game. But, the Cavs were the more aggressive team in the clutch, and that always helps draw calls. Still, I thought the Wizards got slightly robbed here.

Dec 23: Cavs 99, Rockets 90

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 27 points—18 in the second half— and made one of the defining defensive plays of his career by pinning Yao Ming’s shot against the backboard in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers remained the NBA’s only undefeated team at home with a down-and-dirty 99-90 win Tuesday night. Mo Williams scored 23 and Daniel Gibson made two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers, who improved to 23-2 in their last 25 games and 14-0 at home… Rafer Alston scored 20 points in his first game back after missing four with a strained hamstring and Yao, who spent most of the night in foul trouble, had 19—he was 13-of-13 on free throws—for the Rockets, who had their four-game winning streak stopped. Tracy McGrady scored just four points for Houston, which was playing its fourth game in five nights.

Dec 21: Cavs 102, Thunder 91

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 31 points and Mo Williams provided the kind of scoring punch expected out of him when he was brought in to be LeBron’s sidekick as Cleveland finished a four-game road trip with a 102-91 win Sunday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder… Mo Williams, who was brought in this offseason to reinforce for LeBron in a three-team trade that also involved the Thunder, scored 20 points and Delonte West hit his first five shots and finished with 18 points against his former team. Kevin Durant scored 26 for the Thunder, who were playing for the first time since snapping a franchise-record 11-game home losing streak. Russell Westbrook added 24 points and matched his career-high with 11 assists and Jeff Green scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

LeBron James summer extension possible

There have been about 39 million articles written about the free agent summer of 2010, featuring LeBron James and other stars who may be in need of a new contract at the time. For those out there whose current teams are hopeless and must dream of a brighter future, there’s a minor update worth knowing about. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports:

LeBron James said Saturday that he is going to consider signing an extension with the Cavaliers this summer, well before he can become an unrestricted free agent. “You play out this season of course; I will consider it,” James said Saturday before the Cavs practiced at the Pepsi Center. “The direction we are headed is everything I expected and more.” This is the first time James has publicly talked about signing this summer instead of waiting until 2010. It is an indication of how pleased James is with the progress the Cavaliers have made this season as they are off to a 22-4 start, the second-best record in the NBA. In 2006, James signed a three-year, $43 million deal with the Cavs through 2010 and it included a player option for 2010-11 worth $17.4 million. There has been a general assumption that James will forgo his player option, but no one has been paying attention to the other choice, which is to extend his contract with the Cavs early. There is still a good chance James will not sign early and let things play out in 2010. Waiting will give him a chance to evaluate the entire scene before making a decision.

Cavs fans of course want to keep LeBron forever, and the sooner he signs as long a contract as possible, the better. All other fans hope it doesn’t happen, keeping the home he joins their team in the future alive.

Keep hope alive.

Dec 19: Cavs 105, Nuggets 88

The AP reports: The showdown between Olympic teammates LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony quickly turned into more of a smackdown—and a statement. James said Cleveland’s 105-88 runaway win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night was a shout-out to the rest of the NBA and all those doubters out there who contend the Cavaliers’ record—now 22-4—was more a testament of their soft schedule than their championship caliber… In sweeping ‘Melo’s Nuggets for the first time in his career, James had 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He was 13-of-20 from the floor. Zydrunas Ilgauskas celebrated his return to the Cavaliers lineup for the first time since Dec. 10 by making nine of 14 shots for 23 points. He had missed three games with a sprained left ankle. Delonte West added 22 points.

Dec 17: Cavs 93, Wolves 70

The AP reports: LeBron James helped the Cavaliers return to their winning ways with 32 points that sent the Timberwolves to their 11th straight loss, 93-70 on Wednesday night… “We’ve got to keep working at it. Nobody said it was going to be easy,” said Al Jefferson, who had to work for his 20 points against Cleveland’s interior defensive specialist, Ben Wallace. Mike Miller was more aggressive than he’s been for most games this season for Minnesota, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds on 7-for-12 shooting and Kevin Ollie threw in 12 points against one of his many former teams. But Wallace and Anderson Varejao helped limit Jefferson’s damage underneath, doubling him occasionally and clogging the driving lanes to keep the Wolves from finding an offensive rhythm.

Wolves almost drafted Ilgauskas

The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Don Seeholze) reports (via blog): Zydrunas Ilgauskas is in his 10th season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and recently became the team’s all-time leading rebounder, but his career could have gone much differently. Wolves coach Kevin McHale said before tonight’s game that the team was prepared to select the 7-foot-3 center in the second round of the 1995 NBA draft until he broke his foot during a workout. “Tough kid,” McHale said. “I’m a big fan of Zydrunas. He broke his foot and he was still practicing. He was working out and he said, ‘My foot hurts a little bit.’ … After seeing it was a broken foot, I said that’s a pretty tough dude.”

Dec 13: Hawks 97, Cavs 92

The AP reports: Mike Bibby scored 24 points, Marvin Williams hit the clinching free throws, and Atlanta snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 11-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory Saturday night. LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists for the Cavs, who overcame a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 70-68 lead early in the fourth on Mo Williams’ layup… Cleveland was playing its second straight game without injured starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Anderson Varejao’s 11 points and eight rebounds weren’t enough to compensate on the front line with Ben Wallace going scoreless on just two shots from the field.

Dec 12: Cavs 88, Sixers 72

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 28 points and Anderson Varejao added 17 in his first start this season as the Cavaliers, despite missing two key components, matched a club record with their 11th straight win, 88-72 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night… Varejao filled in for Ilgauskas, who is expected to miss several games, and the frizzy-haired Brazilian and rookie Darnell Jackson, playing a season-high 24 minutes, did a nice job holding their own inside against Philadelphia’s big men. Varejao had seven rebounds, and Jackson, a second-round pick from Kansas added eight… Willie Green led the Sixers with 19 points, Andre Iguodala had 16 and Elton Brand 11 and 11 rebounds in his second game back after sitting two with a sore hamstring.

Ilgauskas sprains ankle

Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas suffered a left ankle sprain with 9:39 remaining in the fourth quarter in last night’s game in Philadelphia. He did not return to the game. He was examined by Dr. Richard Parker at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health today. X-rays were negative and a moderate left ankle sprain is confirmed. He is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s game versus Philadelphia and his status will be updated as appropriate.